Gold futures in New York eased early on Thursday, hit by selling amid a resurgent US dollar and despite a steady oil price above $70, traders said.
The metal back pedalled a bit after rising on Wednesday to an eight-day high above $590 an ounce, though gold still looked steadier overall after its recovery from below $550 last week.
By 9:48 am EDT (1348 GMT), August delivery gold was down $3.00 to $588 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, in an early range of $598.30, which was a high hit overnight, to a low at $586.70.
Gold futures climbed as high as $732 an ounce in mid-May, their loftiest since 1980, before plunging back below $600. It traded last week down to almost $546 before bouncing back.
Dennis Gartman, author of daily investment report The Gartman Letter, said, "the lows last week in gold at the $545 to $550 level were almost certainly ... the lows for the move, and ... a new leg upward in the multiyear bull market in gold has begun in earnest."
Spot gold at last check fetched $584.20/585.20 an ounce, against $589.20/9.90 in New York late on Wednesday. Thursday's morning fix in London reached $594.40.
Other precious metals fell in near lock step with gold, traders said.
COMEX July silver fell 13.0 cents to $10.29 an ounce, trading from $10.6550 to $10.25. Last Wednesday, futures slumped to a four-month low of $9.45.
Spot silver slid to $10.32/10.42 an ounce, vs. $10.51/10.61 previously. Silver fixed at $10.54. NYMEX July platinum was off $11.90 at $1,182 an ounce. It fell to a two-month low of $1,095 last week. Spot platinum eased to $1,181/1,189.
September palladium fell $3.50 to $311 an ounce. Wednesday, it dropped to a four-month low of $267.10. Spot traded up $3 to $313/318.